Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | 21 February 1989 |
Sport | |
Country | Kenya |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
Helen Jepkurgat (also known as Hellen Jepkurgat; b. Feb. 21, 1989) is a Kenyan-born athlete competing in middle- and long-distance running who has won major races in Africa, the United States, France and Italy. [1] [2] In the 2019 African Games (held in Rabat, Morocco), Jepkurgat was one of three women chosen to compete for Kenya in the African Half Marathon Championship. She was the top Kenyan competitor in a race that saw Ethiopians sweep the podium. She finished in fourth place with a time of 1:12:29, a few seconds behind Tola Mesetey Belete. [3] [4] [5]
Jepkurgat has won many races throughout France, including the 2009 Tour de Tirol, the 2012 Mémorial Partigiani Stellina, and the 2016 Marathon Vert de Rennes.
Her second-place finish at the 2011 Nairobi Half Marathon established her as a major international half marathoner. [6] In Italy, she won half marathons in Torino (in 2012) [7] Jesolo (in 2014), [8] and Piacenza (in 2015, clocking 1:09:56, one of the fastest women's half marathon times of that year). [9] Until 2023, she held the course record for the Venice-based Moonlight Half Marathon. [10]
In the 2016 Geneva Marathon, Jepkurgat made her marathon debut and raced with Jane Kiptoo through the Swiss streets. They ran through the warm weather close together, but Jeptoo pulled away and won by 12 seconds. [11]
In 2017, she won the largest marathon in California: the Los Angeles Marathon. At the race, she led more than 10,000 other women, including Kenyan Jane Kibii and Ethiopian Biruktayit Degefa, punching through the miles in the mild 60-degree air to break the tape and finish in 2:34:24. [12]
The year proved to be a big one for her. She traveled to Duluth, Minnesota, for the Grandma's Marathon (named after the restaurant on the canal). Starting in Two Harbors, Minnesota, she raced with the top runners along the North Shore of Lake Superior to capture the first-place prize. A few months later, she was the second-place finisher at the Minneapolis-to-St. Paul Twin Cities Marathon. The three races earned her $40,000 in prize winnings.
In 2019, she chased Ethiopian Lemelem Berha to finish second in 2:31:33 at the World Athletics Bronze-labeled BP Castellón Marathon in Spain. [13] She ran the Lisbon Marathon as well, again on the heels of the leader (which was Ethiopian Sechale Delasa), finishing second by just six seconds. Her final time was sub-2:30 (2:29:57), two minutes ahead of third-place Sule Utura. [14] [15]
In 2020, she dueled with Ugandan Immaculate Chemutai in Thailand at the Buriram Marathon and finished third in 2:33:25.
Jepkurgat placed top-10 in the September 2021 Madrid Marathon in Spain. Prior to that (in April), she won 5th place at the Lagos Marathon in Nigeria.
In April 2022, she competed at the Izmir Marathon in Turkey, finishing in third behind Lilian Chemweno and Letebrhan Haylay. [16]
The following spring, she won the Abalone Marathon de Nantes in France by four minutes (in 2:40:34), returned to Kenya, and won a local marathon sponsored by Lukenya University. [17] [18]
Jepkurgat has worked with agent Marc Corstjens, the former Belgian national record-holder in the 1,500 meters and 800 meters. [19] In 2017, she was living and training in Grand Prairie, Texas. [20]
The Bengaluru Marathon is an annual marathon running event held in Bengaluru, India.
Caroline Cheptanui Kilel is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. She was the winner at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the Frankfurt Marathon in 2010 and 2013. Kilel took the silver medal in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Podgorica Marathon is an annual road running event in Montenegro, which features a full-length (42.195 km) marathon, half marathon as well as a 5 km fun run race.
Ashu Kasim Rabo is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the half marathon and marathon events. Her personal bests are 68:56 minutes and 2:23:09 hours, respectively.
The Tallinn Marathon is an annual road marathon, held in Tallinn, Estonia. It is held in September and is the biggest annual marathon in Estonia. Both the marathon and the half marathon held the day before are categorized as Elite Label Road Races by World Athletics.
Priscah Jeptoo is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won marathons in New York, Paris, Turin, and London and has a best time of 2:20:14 for the distance. She was the runner-up in the marathon at both the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and the 2012 London Olympics. She ranks third all-time over the half marathon distance with her best of 66 minutes and 11 seconds.
The Düsseldorf Marathon is an annual road marathon in Düsseldorf, Germany in early May, first held in 2003.
John Nzau Mwangangi is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes over distances ranging from 5000 metres to the half marathon. He was the gold medallist at the 2011 African Cross Country Championships. He has won a number of high-profile European road races, including the Dam tot Damloop, 20 Kilomètres de Paris, Greifenseelauf, the Valencia Half Marathon and the Valencia Marathon.
Joyce Chepkirui is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. She established herself as a half marathon runner, winning races in Granollers, Bogotá and Gothenburg. She set a best of 1:06:19 hours to win the 2014 Prague Half Marathon. She also competes in 10K road races and her personal best of 30:38 minutes makes her fifth fastest woman ever.
Gladys Cherono Kiprono is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and road running events. She became the first woman to win both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres at the African Championships in 2012. She is a three-time winner of the Berlin Marathon and the 8th fastest women marathoner of all time.
Dominic Ondoro is a Kenyan long-distance runner best known for holding the course records at Minnesota's Grandma's Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon. He has won many other major marathons, some multiple times, such as the 2017 and 2023 Houston Marathon in Texas, his two Melbourne Marathon wins in Australia and his unrivaled four Twin Cities Marathon wins in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Mykola Antonenko is a Ukrainian middle- and long-distance runner, and Ukrainian national champion in the 10K. He is the winner of multiple notable road races and a top finisher in major international races.
Christopher Kipyego is a runner from Kenya who has won multiple major marathon races, including the Mexico City Marathon in 2006 with a time of 2:17:23.
Serkalem Biset Abrha, also known as Abrha Serkalem Biset, is a runner from Ethiopia who competes in long distance running and has won several major international marathons.
Augustus Mbusya Kavutu is a Kenyan long-distance runner and marathoner who has won several long-distance races and finished in the top ten of multiple international marathons. He ran one of the fastest half-marathons in the world in 2003, clocking 1:01:19.
Pavel Andreyev is a Russian middle-distance and long-distance runner who has won multiple US and European road races including the Dallas, Helsinki, St. Petersburg White Nights and Grandma’s marathons. He was also the silver medal winner in the 1997 Russian Athletics Championships 10,000 meters.
Sarah Kiptoo Cheriwoi is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner who is the winner of the 2014 Casablanca International Marathon as well as the 2013 and 2016 Grandma's Marathon, the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon and several other American road races.
Philemon Kiprono Kemboi is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who competed in Africa, China, Europe and the United States, where he won the Grandma's Marathon in 2010.
The Tunis–Carthage Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Tunis, Tunisia, since 1986. The marathon is a World Athletics Label Road Race and a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. During the race weekend, a half marathon, a 10K race, and a 5K race are also offered.
The Malaga Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Málaga, Spain, since 2010. The marathon is a World Athletics Label Road Race, and was a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).